The Sergeant's Frustration
by BackgroundRobot-11
Summary: It was the Nulls. It was always the damn Nulls.


22 BBY

Coruscant

To say that Sergeant Jawbreaker was upset would be quite an understatement. His fists were clenched hard enough to make his knuckles white, he was grinding his teeth and there was red around the borders of his vision. If someone had told him that his hair was spontaneously going grey from stress, he would have not been the least bit surprised.

 _It was those Nulls, it was those damn Nulls_.

The Nulls had been a problem back on Kamino, and now they were a problem at their new base. They had received orders that they were to go into cryo-stasis because of their unruly nature. The Nulls, being the insubordinate _shabuirs_ that they were, however, had been deeply offended that they were expected to take orders from people who weren't Kal Skirata. It had never seemed to occur to them that if they had just accepted orders, they would never have needed to be forcibly put into stasis anyway. In what Jawbreaker considered to be an embarrassing and highly dangerous temper tantrum, they had decided to barricade themselves into Arca Barracks and were refusing to come out. And of course, they were armed, because the Force, or fate or the Bedlam Spirits or _something_ clearly had it out for him.

A Jedi General, Iri Camas, was in charge of putting a stop to the debacle. So far, it seemed like he had everything under control. There were sniper teams on the roofs of adjacent buildings, and a handful of squads wielding riot shields were posted outside the barracks, Hyperion Squad among them. But, much to Jawbreaker's frustration, they were simply holding their position.

Jawbreaker shook his head and lowered his shield "I'm going over there to speak to him."

Cabur turned to face his Sergeant "What? Why?" There was a clear note of concern in his voice.

"Because we need to actually _do_ something about this. We can't just stand here while they lash out like spoiled children."

"Heavily armed, highly dangerous children," Genet chimed in.

Jawbreaker took a deep breath before he spoke "I think something needs to be done. I think we should be sent in."

Cabur and Destroyer traded glances. It was impossible to tell what their expressions were because of their helmets, but Jawbreaker thought he could gauge their reactions.

"Jawbreaker, what do you mean by that?" Cabur asked, his voice cautious.

"This needs to end _now_ , Cabur. They've pulled some stunts before, but never like this. This needs to be the last one," Jawbreaker replied, his voice firm.

"Jawbreaker, if you're suggesting what I think you are, this is a bad idea." Destroyer spoke up. Unlike Cabur, he sounded quite sure of himself.

Jawbreaker threw up his arms and started to shout "Is it? What's the alternative here? We back down, let them have their way? That'll just embolden them! We'll be practically encouraging them that they can threaten the GAR when they don't get what they want! This is the army, there are rules to be obeyed, orders to be followed and they can't just decide not to follow them because they don't like whose giving them! I have had it with their behaviour, and if they won't fall back in line, then we need to show them that their actions have consequences!" Jawbreaker finished his tirade, and realised that he was shaking. He clenched his fists and willed himself to stop quivering. He had never been this mad before.

Cabur and Destroyer looked at each other again, this time for a longer period of time. After almost a minute, Cabur began to speak "Jawbreaker, look, we understand that you're upset about this, but-"

Jawbreaker swiftly cut him off "No, no more. This ends today."

And at that, Jawbreaker marched over to General Camas. He was talking to two clone troopers, looking very tired of the whole situation. Jawbreaker could certainly relate.

"General?"

A harried looking Camas turned to face Jawbreaker "Yes, Sergeant?"

Jawbreaker closed his eyes and exhaled "I think you should send my squad in and neutralise them," Jawbreaker said, struggling to keep his voice level.

Jawbreaker knew very well that there was no way that his team could neutralise all of the Nulls. But they could at least take out two or three of them.

And as long as one of them was Ordo, Jawbreaker would be _very_ satisfied.

General Iri Camas blinked in shock "Excuse me, Sergeant?"

"I know these soldiers, General _," If they can even be called that_ , Jawbreaker thought, ruefully "They're dangerous, they're insubordinate and they're _kriffed_ in the head. This kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated. We cannot let them get away with this. They have to be stopped."

Camas' eyes were wide. Perhaps he was stunned by Jawbreaker's attitude towards killing the Nulls, the sergeant couldn't be sure.

After a moment, the General spoke up "Sergeant, we're not trying to kill these men. From what I understand, these are some of the best soldiers in the GAR. We need them."

Jawbreaker felt his frustration mount "General, skilled or not, they should not be allowed to get away with this kind of behaviour. We have to draw the line somewhere and let them know that skilled or not, we won't bend over backwards to accommodate them. There has to be a limit!"

"Oh, rest assured, Sergeant, they _will_ be punished for this. We have no intention of letting this slide." Camas said, frowning deeply as he rubbed his temples.

"Whatever discipline you're going to enforce. It won't be enough. You piss them off, and they'll start scheming some way to get back at you, General. The Nulls are unstable, highly dangerous and very stubborn. This is a threat that we have to end now. Or else-"

Camas cut him off "Sergeant, enough. I understand your frustration, believe me, I do. But I _will not_ authorise lethal force in this situation unless I absolutely have to. Now, please, get back into formation."

And just like that, Jawbreaker almost seemed to deflate. His warnings had been ignored. Dejected, he trundled back to his squad.

"How did it go?" Destroyer asked, hesitantly.

"We're not going in," Jawbreaker replied, his voice faint, barely more than a whisper.

Genet scoffed "Why the kriff not?"

"General Camas doesn't think neutralising the Nulls is necessary. At least not until they lash out and kill someone, anyway," Jawbreaker muttered, his tone bitter.

It was at that moment that a Coruscant Security Force speeder landed nearby. Jawbreaker peered at it in curiosity. _Who could be_ -?

His question was answered when Kal Skirata jumped out, the man wincing as he landed. Jawbreaker felt his stomach drop. _Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no!_

Jawbreaker could see Skirata limp over to Camas and the two of them started to talk. They were too far away to be heard, but Skirata soon strode over. He struck up a conversation with one of the other commandos. Jez, from Aiwha-3, one of Skirata's.

Camas called out "Sergeant? Sergeant! What if they open fire-"

Skirata walked over to the entrance of Arca Barracks, not bothering to look at Camas "Then they open fire. Do we have a deal? Or do you want me holed up in there with them? Because I won't be coming out unless you guarantee them no disciplinary action."

Jawbreaker's eyes shot wide open, and he began to sputter in rage, his words inaudible from beneath his helmet. _How dare he? How dare he let them get away with this?!_

There was a long pause, and Camas looked as if Skirata had forced something incredibly bitter into his mouth "You have my word. Consider yourself in the Grand Army. We'll discuss how we're going to deploy you and your men later. But first let's get everyone back to normal, shall we, please?"

"I'll hold you to every last word, General," Skirata replied, his tone smug.

The doors to Arca Barracks slowly parted open, and Skirata walked through, calm as could be. Of course he was, Jawbreaker knew the Nulls would never hurt him. For a single, hysteric moment, Jawbreaker wondered if he had somehow planned this.

From inside, Jawbreaker could hear Skirata call out, his voice light and playful. To Jawbreaker, it sounded like mockery "Ord'ika! Ordo? You've been a naughty boy again, haven't you? Come here…"

And just like that, the Nulls had strongarmed the Grand Army of the Republic into letting them have their way.

Jawbreaker never knew he could be so disgusted.


End file.
